Wonderful Wednesday - UFO Club Finish

Welcome to another edition of Wonderful Wednesday!!  I'm pleased to share my latest UFO Club finish.  It's my first (and possibly only) completed project for the Summer 2023 (Ravelry) UFO Club.  You may have seen a teaser on Instagram or seen the quilt and read a snippet of the story, if you are a member of the Quilters Knitting group on Ravelry.  For the rest of you...

This is the story of the Back/Front Quilt:

I made this YEARS ago!  It was a bunch of random scrappy 4-Patch blocks that I put together for a quilt back of a long ago project. Too bad for me, it insisted that it wanted to be a quilt TOP!!  (Or maybe I ran out of the sashing fabric before it was big enough to cover the batting.  Who knows, at this point?)

Lucky me, my friend Stacy @ Over the Moon Quilts agreed to quilt it for me. It's going to our guild's charity program at the upcoming meeting.  The coordinator was kind enough to find backing, batting, and binding in the guild's stash of contributed supplies.

Here are the photos:

Make sure to click (or double click) on the photo to see the fun quilting design that Stacy used to stitch the layers together:

Right side up...

Or upside down...

It's finished!!!

That (finally) satisfies my promise to Sarah @ Confessions of a Fabric Addict.  (Or @fabricaddictquilts on Instagram.)  The quilt was my entry for this year's Hands2Help Comfort Quilt Challenge.  She graciously accepted my donation, knowing that it would be waiting to be fit into Stacy's quilting schedule, as my own longarm was out of commission this Spring.  Thanks for your patience, Sarah!  

I have arrived...

While sitting in my living room one morning, I suddenly decided that I had arrived at the point in my quilting career that I didn't need to KEEP ALL THE QUILTS!!!

WAIT, what, Joyful???

That's right!  I've been quilting for 30+ years and (for the most part) unless I specifically make a quilt as a gift or for a donation, most of the quilts remain here with my family.  Let me tell you, that's a LOT of quilts! 

Donating this quilt was a HUGE step for me...

You see, this quilt holds SEW many memories.  It includes fabric scraps from a number of significant projects in my quilting journey.  My MIL's quilt, the quilts I made for our boys, wedding gifts for friends and family members, along with squares from the quilt challenges that I've participated in over the years are all represented.

The deciding factor???

Storage.  It's an issue in the house we moved into two years ago.  (Unless you ask DH, as he'll tell you there is plenty of storage here, but he's wrong.)  There are only so many corners available for wedging in another quilt rack and only so many closet shelves with empty space to house another quilt.  Therefore, the lesser-loved/under-used quilts will be systematically prepared to leave the nest.  They deserve to be displayed and/or snuggled with, not just shoved in a closet waiting to fulfill their quilty destiny.

In closing...

I'll end this with a BIG thank you to those who helped me complete this quilt and leave you all with a porch swing picture:

Until next time...

Mark another UFO off the list!!!

Sew Some Love Sunday - H2H 2023 - Quilt Link Up

Welcome to the 2023 edition of the Hands2Help Comfort Quilt Challenge Link-Up!!  Sarah @ Confessions of a Fabric Addict is the mastermind behind the event.  I signed up, as I have the last 5 years.  Today is the day that participating quilters are supposed to share their completed quilts.  How many of you readers believe that is what will happen here??  If you guessed yes...

Well...

Not exactly!  When I went to join the Link Party, I realized that it was LAST WEEK and the link-up was already CLOSED!!  :o((

Shall I tell my tale, anyway???

OK.  This is the quilt top that I plucked out of my UFO drawer:

For the record, here is a closer look at the fabric:

Lots of memories in this one!  Of course, there's a story that accompanies many of them and with the quilt top itself, as well.  Any number of gifts, donations, and challenges in the mix.  If the stars had aligned, it would have been ready to donate at last month's Quilt Guild meeting.

Unfortunately...

Two things thwarted that plan.  An extended trip to Florida in the middle of the month and the fact that my longarm is holding another quilt hostage:

That one will be given to a Hometown Hero.  It will serve as a comfort quilt for a local traumatized teacher.  Additional photos will be provide when that quilt is complete.

For the purposes of H2H 2023, the Back Front Quilt has been given to another longarmer to be quilted.  (Special thanks to Stacy @ Over the Moon Quilts for taking on the quilting of my donation!)  This was the night I handed it over:

Stacy will be using a guild-provided backing and batting for the quilt and returning it to me for binding.  My apologies for the delay, Sarah!  The local Crisis Center needs quilts throughout the year and the Guild will happily accept it whenever it is completed.  That doesn't do much for this year's H2H totals even though it was my intention for them to be included.  I'll try to do better next year.

Until next time...

Quilt to GIVE!!!

Sew Some Love Sunday - H2H 2022 Final Link Party - Sunshine Cabin

Welcome to the 2022 Hands2Help edition of Sew Some Love Sunday!!  My blocks were begun last year, but I was quilting up a storm, then packing to move house and didn't finish them.  I knew that they would make a great jump start on this year's donation.

I was right!!!

The final blocks were finished about a month ago and I decided on a layout:

If YOU recognize that polka dot fabric, THANK YOU!!  That print is such a fun choice for the setting triangles and there's even a little leftover for another project:

Assembling the rows had me missing my "design floor" from the last house and had me wishing for a spot for a design wall in this house, as there was a second quiltmaker in the studio that day, but I'm certainly not complaining about that:

I was left with four blocks to transform into a scrappy something at a later date.  I used every bit of the floral print!  I believe my friend DeeDee is to thank for that one:

I posted about the completed quilt top HERE:

Not SEW long ago, I decided on a backing (also from DeeDee, if memory serves me correctly) and pieced in a strip of sunshine to make up the difference...

The quilt waited...

And it was eventually (in celebration of a completed T-quilt!) loaded on the longarm:

I started with yet another attempt at doing Orange Peels:

It only took THREE setting triangles for me to realize two things:

The first was that I may NEVER master that quilting design and the second was that a large allover meander goes really fast!  Before I knew it, it was time to trim the quilt...

... And prepare the binding:

Once again, the quilt waited...

... Until I was done with the second T-quilt.  Only then did I allow myself to work on this one.  Yesterday, I was pleased to finish off the binding:

Look closely, RSC Quilter friends!  There is some Dark GREEN to end the May Color of the Month.

And there, dear friends, is another quilt done and dusted...  Too bad it wasn't on the UFO Club list!!!  :o((

Again, these blocks came by way of Sarah @ Confessions of a Fabric Addict who shared a tutorial by Christina @ A Few Scraps for H2H21.  It was YELLOW month at the Rainbow Scrap Challenge when I got started on my blocks.  I's SEW glad that they gave me a head start for this year's event!  This cheerful quilt will be donated to my local Quilt Guild for one of their charities.  A smaller quilt was just what I needed during T-Quilt season.  :o))

Linking up with...

Mari @ The Academic Quilter

for

The H2H22 Final Link Party

and

Sharing with Cynthia

for

Oh, Scrap!

Special thanks to Mari for stepping in as host of the H2H show this year!!  I know that Sarah appreciates the work you did to keep the program running.  We, the participants do, too!

Until next time...

Sew Some Love!!!

Wonderful Wednesday - The Friend-ly Sew Day

Welcome to the latest edition of Wonderful Wednesday!!  It's hard to believe this actually took place more than two weeks ago no. I still wanted to honor the day with its own post and share my day with you.

You see...

Needleb came over:

 She had some cutting to do and wanted to root through my purple scraps:

I took the time to load my thread racks - shown soon after that day:

I worked on my H2H quilt which is now finished - sans binding:

B's project has grown since that day, as well:

Happiness is spending quilty time with good friends:

Thanks for celebrating my friend-ly sew day with me.

Until next time...

Who is YOUR sewing partner???

Sew Some Love Sunday - H2H 2022 - The Quilt Top

Welcome to another edition of Sew Some Love Sunday!!  I've been working on my 2022 Hands2Help quilt since LAST year. I'm pleased to announce that the blocks shown below have now been assembled into a quilt top.

Here's the story, for those who care to read it...

Sarah @ Confessions of a Fabric Addict shared a tutorial by Christina @ A Few Scraps for H2H21.  It was YELLOW month at the Rainbow Scrap Challenge when I got started on my blocks.  I was busy quilting donation quilts and didn't get very far, but figured that would give me a head start for this year's event.  I was right!  :o))

I finished up the last few blocks a couple of weeks ago and decided on a layout, then sewed the rows together.  Here they are, waiting to be pressed:

Assembling the quilt top was a little tricky since I selected an on-point setting:

I got it together and now just need to choose or make a backing:

What a cheerful quilt this is going to be.  As you can see, I opted for an alternate setting.  Love, love, LOVE the fun dotted fabric that my Design Assistant picked out!  I was having trouble deciding on something.  Thanks, DS2!!  This will be donated to my local quilt guild's charity program to avoid having to make a(nother) trip to the post office.

Until next time...

Sew Some Love!!!

Mail Call Monday - Oops! It'sTuesday - Oh, Gifty Day!

Welcome the late edition of Mail Call Monday!!  Yes. I do realize that it's no longer Monday.  I was busy quilting and completely forgot that I had a post to finish.

What was in the mail last week, Joyful???

First...

A gift to myself:

A gorgeous new book... Scrap School:

Next...

My H2H gift arrived from Sarah @ Confessions of a Fabric Addict:

I received two magazines from Missouri Star Quilt Company:

Thank you to Sarah and her wonderful sponsors!!

And, last, but not least...

A rather large box from Mari @ The Academic Quilter:

Hmm... What's under this wooden lid???

This beautiful card...

With this hand written note:

Look at the sweet little Longaberger baskets:

She even included some fun PURPLE fabrics in honor of this month's Rainbow Scrap Challenge:

The main item in the box was this lovely Longaberger Envelope basket:

Thanks SEW much for thinking of me, Mari!  I'm glad you remember that I was a Longaberger collector.  My collection didn't include these three baskets, but now it does.  :o))

Until next time...

Hooray for happy mail!!